1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an apparatus and method of improving the fuel efficiency of an internal combustion engine, and in particular, to an apparatus and method for hydrolyzing water into a mixture comprising hydrogen gas and oxygen gas, which is combined with the fuel and air mixture used in an internal combustion engine.
2. History of the Prior Art
During the past 30 years, significant advances have been made in internal combustion engine technology that have dramatically improved the efficiency of internal combustion engines. For gasoline engines, four-valve-per-cylinder combustion chamber designs, coupled with computer monitoring of the combustion process and computer control of both valve timing and fuel injection, have resulted in significant gains in fuel economy. Whereas in the 1950s and 1960s, two and three-speed automatic transmissions were 10 to 20 percent less efficient than manual transmissions, the computer-controlled, six and seven-speed automatic transmissions of the twenty-first century are, typically, more efficient than manual transmissions. Although added weight from new safety features and a host of accessories that have become “essential” have somewhat reduced the effect of gains in drivetrain efficiency, a large percentage of the gain in efficiency has been applied by vehicle manufacturers to engine power output. The result has been very little overall increase in corporate average fuel efficiency during the past 25 years.
The rapid rise of the price of crude oil in 2007 and 2008 has traumatized the transportation industry. Most global airline companies are sustaining huge operating losses because of high fuel costs, and are headed for insolvency. U.S. automobile manufacturers, who have long relied on fuel-guzzling, high-markup light trucks and SUVs for most of their profits, have watched sales of those vehicles drop precipitously. Not since the early 1970s has such an economically compelling reason existed for U.S. consumers to purchase fuel-efficient vehicles. Since the 1975, U.S. Federal regulations have attempted to pressure automobile manufacturers to improve the fuel efficiency of their corporate offerings. Although the price of crude oil has apparently peaked and is headed down, few consumers will be willing to risk purchasing a fuel-inefficient vehicle any time soon. Thus, economics may prove to be a far more effective incentive for improving the fuel efficiency of new vehicles than any government regulation.
A number of new technologies have shown great promise in enhancing the efficiency of internal combustion engines. Computer-controlled, common-rail, ultra-high-pressure direct injection designs have greatly improved the fuel economy and reduced emissions of a new generation of diesel engines. Internal combustion steam engines, which are still in the earliest stages of development, have demonstrated dramatic increases in thermal efficiency.
This patent application deals with another technology that has been shown to enhance the operational efficiency of conventional internal combustion engines operating primarily on conventional fuels such as gasoline, ethanol, and gasoline-ethanol mixtures. The technology is implemented by introducing a mixture of small quantities of hydrogen gas (H2) and oxygen gas (O2) (commonly called Brown's gas or oxyhydrogen gas) generated by an electrolyzer into the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine. It is believed that the explosive reaction of hydrogen and oxygen in the combustion chambers of the engine promotes more complete combustion of the primary fuel, with a corresponding decrease in incomplete combustion products, such as soot and carbon monoxide. The hydrolysis of water to produced both hydrogen and oxygen gases is well known in the art. Water is, of course, a non-flammable, stable and safe compound. However, as hydrogen and oxygen gases are both unstable, highly-reactive, and—when combined—potentially explosive, utilization of hydrogen gas in vehicular applications must be undertaken with great care and intelligent equipment design.
There is a plethora of electrolyzers being offered for sale on every forum imaginable, including eBay and Craig's List. A recent search for “electrolyzer” on eBay found over 100 electrolyzers of various designs for sale. A search using the descriptor “hydrogen generator” found over 1500 items for sale! Most of these electrolyzers are intended for use in vehicular applications. Many are crude, barely-usable contraptions being hocked by fast-buck artists. Others are more refined designed and include all the components required for integrating the output from the electrolyzer into the vehicle's induction system. There are a number of problems associated with the current generation of electrolyzers. The first is that many are designed so that the full voltage from the vehicle's electrical system (typically 14-volts DC) is applied to one or multiple cells, each having a single anode and a single cathode and immersed in an open electrolyte bath. Most of the energy consumed by such an electrolyzer is converted to heat. The heat causes the electrolyte solution to froth and boil, resulting in electrolyte, along with hydrogen and oxygen gases, being introduced into the intake manifold of the vehicle. A second problem is a lack of compactness that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to install an electrolyzer system within the already-crowded engine compartments of many of today's vehicles. It should be understood that compactness encompasses not only volume, but height as well. Many light trucks, for example, have auxiliary battery trays so that two full size batteries can be installed within the engine compartment. However, most vehicles produced during the past twenty years were designed for low-profile, side-terminal batteries. The use of space normally allocated for an auxiliary battery for installation of an electrolyzer system presents difficult design challenges if adequate hydrogen generating capacity is to be maintained. A third problem relates to the complexity of existing electrolyzer designs. Complexity not only increases manufacturing costs, but also typically results in a decrease in reliability.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,310,483 to William A. Rhodes discloses a multicell oxy-hydrogen generator having a plurality of spaced plates submersed in an electrolyte which operate electrically in series with each other. The plates are enclosed within a case having grooved, opposed side panels and a grooved bottom panel. The grooved side panels and the grooved bottom panel form individual slots for each plate, thereby maintaining a desired spacing between the plates. However, the individual cells are not isolated from one another, which leads to significant current leakage between cells. A preferred embodiment of the device has 60 plates, and is designed to operate with fully rectified, 120 VAC house current. There is no provision for maintaining an optimum level of electrolyte within the case, other than manually filling the case, as needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,954 to Stowe (the '954 patent) discloses an electrolysis cell, having a pair of axially-concentric electrodes, for generating hydrogen and oxygen gases which are added to the fuel delivery system as a supplement to the hydrocarbon fuels burned therein. The design eliminates the hazard of explosion of the hydrogen-oxygen gas mix by withdrawing the gases through a connection with the vacuum line of the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system of the engine and by utilizing a slip-fitted top cap for the electrolysis cell, which cooperates with the PCV vacuum line to prevent explosive containment of generated gases in case of accident. U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,493 B1 (the '493 patent) discloses a kit that uses an electrolytic cell to produce hydrogen and oxygen that may either be separated or mixed before the gases are introduced to a vehicle fuel system. Although each of these systems may increase fuel efficiency, there are a number of drawbacks associated with these systems. A first drawback is the use of electrolytic cells which use a voltage of 12-14 volts. This relatively high voltage generates an unnecessary amount of heat, which effectively decreases the benefit from any increase in combustion efficiency. A second drawback is the use of electrodes having a relatively small surface area. This small surface area translates into limited hydrogen/oxygen generation capacity. A third drawback—particularly in the system disclosed in the '493 patent—is the difficulty for end users to replace worn system components in such a highly integrated system. U.S. Pat. App. No. 2005/0258049 by Dennis Klein discloses an electrolyzer that supposedly eliminates the drawbacks of the devices disclosed in the '954 and '493 patents. Like the prior art devices, the Klein device is adapted to generate hydrogen and oxygen gases for introduction into the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine. From the disclosure, it appears that Klein is providing an array of parallel plates, with the plates alternately coupled to ground and full positive battery voltage. The result is an electrolyzer with 12-14 volts DC applied to every cell. The amount of heat generated is so high that Klein provides cooling fins on the outer surface of the case which encloses the plates and holds a supply of electrolyte. In addition, the electrode plates of the Klein device are immersed in an unpartitioned supply of electrolyte. Failure to partition the plates may lead to unnecessary current leakage between electrode plates. Current leakage will waste energy in the form of heat.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved devices for generating hydrogen and oxygen gases that are simple to fabricate, efficient to operate, provide ample gas output without the generation of unnecessary amounts of heat, and which are equipped with means for automatic replenishment of electrolyte.